Natural Remedies for Pregnancy Constipation That Actually Work

Nobody warns you quite how much pregnancy changes your digestion, but if you’re hunting for natural remedies for pregnancy constipation, you’re dealing with one of the most common, and least talked about, symptoms of early and ongoing pregnancy.

Why Pregnancy Causes Constipation

Progesterone slows down the muscle contractions that move food through your digestive tract, your growing uterus adds pressure, and iron supplements, often started early in pregnancy, can make things firmer still. All three tend to compound each other.

Natural Remedies Worth Trying

Fibre-rich wholefoods. Chia seeds, prunes, pears, oats, psyllium, and legumes all help add bulk and moisture to stool. Introduce them gradually alongside extra water, or you may just trade constipation for bloating.

Magnesium. Magnesium citrate in particular has a gentle, natural laxative effect and is widely considered safe in pregnancy, though it’s worth confirming the right form and dose for you with your practitioner.

Hydration, properly calculated. This sounds obvious, but most people underestimate how much more water pregnancy actually requires, and the amount genuinely increases as pregnancy progresses. As a rough guide, aim for roughly 30ml per kilogram of your body weight in the first trimester, climbing to around 40ml per kilogram in the second and 50ml per kilogram in the third.

A 70kg woman, for example, is looking at close to 3.5 litres a day by the third trimester, well beyond the vague “drink more water” most of us default to.

Fermented foods. Yoghurt, kefir, and sauerkraut support the gut bacteria that play a role in regular digestion.

Gentle movement. Even a short daily walk stimulates digestion in a way that sitting all day doesn’t.

A Note on Iron Supplements

If your constipation started (or worsened) right around when you began an iron supplement, that’s not a coincidence. Talk to your GP or midwife about switching forms, some, like iron bisglycinate, are much gentler on digestion than others, and it’s usually worth trying a gentler form before assuming you simply have to live with it.

When to Loop in Your Midwife or GP

Persistent constipation, pain, or blood when going to the toilet is worth mentioning at your next appointment, particularly if wholefood and hydration changes haven’t shifted things.

Book a free 10-minute chat to talk about how we can work together to create a gut-friendly plan for the rest of your pregnancy.